Argarfsner

Hello everyone, new to the forum. New to JK jeeps as well, but not to Jeeps in general. I have owned 6 over the years from a '73 CJ-6, to several ZJ's, and my current DD a '05 TJ Rubicon.


I just picked up a 2008 JK Unlimited with the 3.8 and only 82,000 miles for $300 off a guy I work with. The jeep has some serious engine problems, and he had planned to scrap it. I bought it sight unseen for $300. I just couldn't help myself. I just picked it up today and the motor is in real bad shape. He likely ran it low or without oil for sometime because he is an idiot. LOUD knock that sounds like its coming from the valvetrain, but could very well be coming from much deeper. Makes no power at all and barley made it the .2 miles I needed it to go. Now I have to decide what to do with this thing.


I don't have a garage right now, and I am not exactly flush with cash so an engine swap is not really an option for me. I would absolutely love to do some rediculous engine swap like a small 3cyl detroit 2-stroke, or a TDI, or some other nonsence but this oppertunity has struck at a bad time for all that. I could dig into it and see if its a collapsed lifter, or maybe a spun bearing but I dont think its worth the effort. The 3.8 seems to have a bad rep and I don't know how much I would get back after all that.


I guess my plan right now is to try and flip it quick and make some money for my other projects, the TJ needs fenders and a grill, wouldn't mind a mild lift and some new rubber. So what do you all think a 2008 JK with a blown motor is worth? It is reasonably rust free, no rot at all on the rockers, frame, doors, etc I was thinking maybe in the 2-3k range? Is that absurd or will there be a market for a cheap JK to start a build out of? What would you all do with a basically free JK with a bad motor?


Im in southern New England btw, so the rust/rot is a big deal around here.


Thanks!

karls10jk

Who else has the garage and ideas but no cash flow for this kind of thing?

Argarfsner

Your 2 out of 3 still beats my 1 out of 3. This couldn't have come at a worse time for me, I've got the TJ in need of a sprucing up, fenders are rotten and the grill needs to go with them. Windshield frame is highly suspect as well. I have been putting this off for like 2 years already. On top of that I need to buy a van to replace a small pickup for sidework, and I am 3/4 of the way through a camper conversion of an antique Crown Coach bus that needed to be done for summer before the bat-soup flu hit. Add to that the Starlight Garage and I'm SOL on this JK project.

Rednroll

You could always try rebuilding the engine. There's a step-by-step video on Youtube of someone rebuilding the 3.8L on Youtube. Forget the idea of swapping out the 3.8L for some other engine beside a rebuilt 3.8L if time and money are a concern. Swapping out a JK engine with something else is not an inexpensive path to pursue. Most economical paths are rebuilding the engine you have or purchasing a 3.8L re-manufactured engine and swapping it out.

3.8L rebuild Part 1: